PICTURES: Why Are Food Prices So High?

When the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released February’s food price index, the number was the highest on record since the index’s inception in 1991. In this week’s National Journal magazine, economics correspondent Jim Tankersley writes that politicians are focused on the price of oil at the expense of the food crisis, which the World Bank estimates has pushed 44 million people worldwide over the brink into extreme poverty.

But not all food prices are on the rising so sharply. We take a look at which foods have remained relatively static and which have soared since this time last year. Throw out your notions of demand- and inflation-driven prices — these results may surprise you.